Miners' strike of 1984-85

The Miners' strike of 1984-85 occurred across the United Kingdom from 6 March 1984 to 3 March 1985 when the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), led by Arthur Scargill, launched a major industrial action with the goal of shutting down the British coal industry to protest colliery closures by the National Coal Board and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. Few major trade unions joined the NUM protests, however, and several miners in the Midlands resumed work rather than strike. From May to September 1984, the strike had 142,000 participants, and the strike was ruled illegal that September due to the NUM's failure to hold a national strike ballot. Thatcher decided to build up ample coal stocks, keep as many miners at work as possible, and break up attacks by pickets on working miners. The strike ended on 3 March 1985, almost a year after its start, and the strike's failure destroyed trade union power and strengthened Thatcher's program of economic liberalism. In December 1994, the coal industry was privatized, and the number of working coal pits was reduced from 174 in 1983 to 6 in 2009. The strikes left 5 dead, 51 police and 72 mineworkers injured, and 11,291 people arrested.